Seeking a homestead to gain experience

[lamonty115]

Good morning!

I am currently seeking out a small scale sustainable farm/homestead/permaculture operation for experience opportunities. I have little experience here in California, as we have just moved to Sebastopol this past spring, and unfortunately with the very fortunate, albeit unexpected, coming of our second child, we find ourselves facing a move back east by the time a year is up. Considering our newly limited time frame, I am now searching eagerly for any and all opportunities and experiences I can find here, so that when we do go back to our corner of the world, we can work to make it just a little bit better for ourselves and our community.

I have 4 months experience on a 10 acre naturally grown small scale operation in upstate NY, and I've since decided that I choose to live a life as a homesteader. However, I have little experience with all of the intricacies of homesteading. To spend some time during the week with a family on a homestead, no matter the level of development, would be amazingly valuable and appreciated. But really, some experience on any type of small scale farming operation would be valuable in my pursuits.

Currently, I am 23 weeks pregnant, and I am a stay at home mother to a 2.7 year old. We are completely unable to afford child care at this point, and I also feel there is great value in exposing my daughter to this lifestyle while she is so young, so she would be accompanying me on the majority of our visits. As such, I am not seeking any sort of gain from this venture above the educational experience, which is in and of itself the greatest compensation I could imagine.

I assure you, I will be able to contribute quite a lot as far as labor and sweat is concerned. As I mentioned, the 4 months spent as an intern on a farm were my entire second trimester of my first pregnancy. And Amelia is a very curious and active girl, and she enjoys being assigned tasks and helping throughout the day. Of course, it would be all the better if there were already children present on location.

If you find yourself interested in helping me plan for not only my sake, but also for the sake of spreading this beautiful lifestyle (with minimal effort on your part, I assure you), I would be most eternally grateful. Please consider us! I look forward to the beautiful relationships to be had out of my time working and learning with the people of this amazing community.

Thank you in advance, with love and light

Carrie Lamontagne